What settings are people using on the Fiio E17, and with which headphones? (bass, treble, gain, vol, etc. - I'm assuming most people don't change the balance, lol)

I can never decide on perfect settings myself.

As mentioned by others, there's no such thing as 'the best settings'. It's entirely personal - some like EQ, some hate it. Some like the extra oomph of additional gain, others can't stand the extra distortion it might add to their setup. And let's not forget about our ears - pretty much a given that no two people will hear the exact same nuances from a given setup. That said, these are the settings I use:

The E17 + E09K combo has the advantage of being able to better power the more demanding headphones. Certainly the E09K and it's predecessor the E9 are not the highest power amps, but from my past experience the extra oomph they provide was well worth the extra $100 or so to accompany the E17. If you don't think you need the extra power but still want a clean line out from the E17, then get an L7 dongle which allows you to keep your E17 powered via USB while providing a 3.5mm line out jack.

The E17 + E09K combo has the advantage of being able to better power the more demanding headphones. Certainly the E09K and it's predecessor the E9 are not the highest power amps, but from my past experience the extra oomph they provide was well worth the extra $100 or so to accompany the E17. If you don't think you need the extra power but still want a clean line out from the E17, then get an L7 dongle which allows you to keep your E17 powered via USB while providing a 3.5mm line out jack.
Dale

My Q701 is getting delivered, and i have the E17. Do you suggest me get the E09K as well?

What settings are people using on the Fiio E17, and with which headphones? (bass, treble, gain, vol, etc. - I'm assuming most people don't change the balance, lol)

I can never decide on perfect settings myself.

I normally leave the gain at 0dB for anything and everything, and usually just adjust the volume as required.
I normally set bass and treble at 0, but occassionally set bass at +2 when using my Q701.
Always set to flat when using my DT880, but I need the E09K to drive the DT880.

Occassionally I use the iTunes variable EQ for some songs. iTunes EQ is not really the last word in EQs though! LOL!

As mentioned by others, there's no such thing as 'the best settings'. It's entirely personal - some like EQ, some hate it. Some like the extra oomph of additional gain, others can't stand the extra distortion it might add to their setup. And let's not forget about our ears - pretty much a given that no two people will hear the exact same nuances from a given setup. That said, these are the settings I use:
Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 ohm - gain 6, bass +4, treble +2
Sennheiser HD800 300 ohm - gain 12, bass +8, treble -2
Shure SE530 IEMs - gain 0, bass +2, treble 0
Volume is almost always between 25 - 35 for the E17 alone and 1/3 to 2/3 on the volume pot when docked on my E9.
Dale

Hey Dale,

Isn't this information highly classified? LOL!

Quote:

Originally Posted by McNuggetsPie

My Q701 is getting delivered, and i have the E17. Do you suggest me get the E09K as well?

Try the E17 with the Q701 for a while.

I think you will be pleased with it.

I really got the E09K partly to drive my 600 Ohm DT880s and partly for the convenience factor: it makes my desk a bit cleaner, easier to adjust the volume with the rotary volume control.

Not always. If your getting great results with just the E17, then it is most likely not going to be a worthwhile difference. The E17 has lower output impedance than the E9 or E09k as well which means it will work better for low impedance headphones. Anything under 100ohms with a decent sensitivity should do just fine with the E17 alone.

I read that you say the sound is just a tad warmer with the E09k, you could accomplish pretty much the same thing by adding a +2 bass boost when using the E17 alone. Do that and try comparing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris J

Much as I am starting to prefer the E09K over the E17, I was quite pleased with the E17 until I compared it to the E09K.

I am also quite pleased with just the E17, I dont listen all that loudly though. I listen anywhere between 70-85db or so depending on my mood and the music I am listening to, but usually I listen at around 75-80db. At these levels the E17 is barely breaking a sweat and does very well.

I read that you say the sound is just a tad warmer with the E09k, you could accomplish pretty much the same thing by adding a +2 bass boost when using the E17 alone. Do that and try comparing.

I am also quite pleased with just the E17, I dont listen all that loudly though. I listen anywhere between 70-85db or so depending on my mood and the music I am listening to, but usually I listen at around 75-80db. At these levels the E17 is barely breaking a sweat and does very well.

I agree, I'm also pleased with the E17 alone and my ath a900x headphones. I don't feel the need for anything extra with low impedance headphones, it feels like overkill to me, then again everyone has different tastes!

Volume plays between ~10 and 37 depending on headphone and environment.

I don't usually use EQ since I pick which headphone to wear based on the sound I'm looking for at the moment, but it's good to have sometimes as some tracks just sound better with a bit of boost here and there ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by McNuggetsPie

Is E09K+E17 really better than E17 by itself?

It's like choosing coffee vs. hot chocolate if you ask me.

They sound a bit different, but the E17 can certainly handle the Q701.

Q701 with E17 goes at +0 gain 27~34 volume for me, though some others have reportedly needed gain boost and still higher volume. For those cases the E09K would help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris J

Oh you bugger!

I've been doing some E09K and E17 A/B comparisons for the last 1/2 an hour, I'm starting to get a preference for the E09K with the Q701.

To my ears, the E17 can tend to brittle and thin with some recordings.

The E09K just sounds a bit warmer and fuller. Nice. I like it.

I don't have a E09K but my brother has a E9 I can use, and have tested the difference between E17 only, E9 only, and the combo.

Wait, seems I did not do the E9 only. In any case, E9 is probably sonically identical or very similar to the E09K.

Let's use this as benchmark. The volume can be driven to audible volume without any problem. The sound as-is, to say the least, is very boring and lifeless. While compared to cheap earphones these might still sound marginally good, you will wonder how these can cost over $200. Sound is boring and dry. Feels almost like a bass and treble roll-off.

iPhone4S --> Q701

Similar case to the laptop, though not as bad. The sound has a bit more body and is a little warmer.

Laptop --> E17 via USB (AMP+DAC) --> Q701

Quite the difference! The sound feels crisper and cleaner, and the sound as heard from the first setup is now changed to bass AND treble extension. The sound opens up, everything feels more dynamic and alive. Bass response is improved, yet still polite.

Laptop --> E9 (AMP) w/ E17 docked on low-pass (DAC) --> Q701

It feels as if the soundstage was reduced a little, but the bass has more impact. Much more. Feels like it sounds a little warmer than E17 alone, with more body.

Many reviews mention that the E17 sometimes sound better as-is, without docking to the E9. For the Q701, I find the docked setup to be more fitting my taste; reading around you might see that I'm not particularly a huge fan of the much-bigger-than-I-am-used-to soundstage of the AKGs. The bass increase is very VERY nice. The E9's knob was at about 1/4 of the max output, 0 gain. The E17 alone runs at the same audible volume with its setting at ~30 (out of 60), 0 gain. The E17 alone is quite the performer; I suspect the amp is better than the E9's just not as powerful. The decrease in pure quality when docked to the E9 brings a different flavor to the sound, and are well within bounds of being acceptable as 'good' sound. Yes, I was playing it pretty loud.

Take that with a spoonful of salt.

But basically the gist is that I also found the E9 to be warmer, and I like that a lot. Also prefer having a knob for volume control.

And, mind you, while I did write "sound quality" I don't remember what I meant by it. Probably the amount of detail from the higher end of the spectrum.